149 



more mine tlian any creatine in llie Indies, becanse I Lave it no lonjijer 

 in my power or disposal. Hence it appears tliat by the common law 

 every man has a.n equal right to such cieatnrcs as were not naturally 

 under the power of man, and that the mere capture or seizure created 

 a i^roperty in them." But, says the author: "By taking and taming 

 them they belong to the owner, as do all the other tame aninnils, so 

 long as they continue in this condition; th;vt is, rrs long as thctj can he 

 considered to have the mind of returning to their masters; for whiJe they 

 appear to he in this state they are plainly the owner'^s and ought not to he 

 violated; but when they forsake tlie houses and Imbitations of men, and 

 betake themselves to the wood, they are then the prox^erty of any man." 

 Bouvier's Ed., Title, Game, Vol. 4, pp. 431, 432. 



Blackstoue says: 



"II. Other animals that are not of a tame and domestic nature are 

 either not the objects of property at all, or else fall under our other 

 division, namely, that of qualilied, limited, or special property, which 

 is such as is not in its nature i^ermaneut, but may sometimes subsist 

 and at other times not subsist. In discussing which subject, I shall, 

 in the first place, show how this species of property may .subsist in 

 such animals as are ferce naturw, or of a wild nature, and then how it 

 may subsist in any other things when urider particular circumstances. 



"First, then, a maa may be invested with a qualitied, but not an 

 absolute property, in all creatures that are fera^ naturw, either ^jer 

 industriam, propter impotentiam, or propter privileginm. 



"1. A qualified i)roperty may subsist in animals /er ft' naturw., per 

 industriam hominis, by a man's reclaiming, and making them tame by 

 art, industry, and education, or by so confining them within his own 

 immediate x)ower that they can not escape and use their natural liberty. 

 And under this head some writers have ranked all the former species 

 of animals we have mentioned, apprehending none to be originally and 

 naturally tame, but only made so by art and custom, as horses, swine, 

 and other cattle, which, if originally left to themselves, would have 

 chosen to rove up and down, seeking their food at large, and are only 

 made domestic by use and familiarity, and are, therefore, say they, 

 called mansueta, quasi mayiui assueta. But, however well this notion 

 may be founded, abstractly considered, our law apprehends the most 

 obvious distinctions to be between such animals as we generally sec 

 tame, and are, therefore, seldom, if ever, found wandering at large, 

 which it calls domitw naturw, and such creatures as are usually found 

 at liberty, which are therefore supposed to be more emi)hatically fcrw 



